ACS gets new system to track Bronx, city child abuse cases

The Administration for Children?s Services (ACS), the agency charged with protecting Bronx and city children, will get a new tool to better track abuse cases.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R-NY) announced Thursday at City Hall that ?ChildStat,? a system similar to one the NYPD uses to track crime, will be established for ACS. Other changes include giving caseworkers more time to investigate in the field and firing ineffective workers. ACS Commissioner John Mattingly says he is working to implement the changes over the next six months to a year to avoid future tragedies.

The agency overhaul comes in the wake of child abuse cases across the Bronx and the January 11 death of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown in Brooklyn. Brown?s mother and stepfather are awaiting trial for her alleged abuse, starvation and death. The girl?s school contacted ACS several times when she failed to attend class, but the agency admits, in the end, it failed to follow up.